MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE. A Dedicated Teacher

Transcription

1 MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE C A Dedicated Teacher

2 4A-1 Mary McLeod Bethune Mary Jane McLeod was born a long, long time ago, in 1875, in South Carolina on her parents small farm. Mary s parents had seventeen children. Mary was the fifteenth child.

3 4A-1: Mary McLeod Bethune Mary was the only member of her family to go to school and receive an education. Her brothers and sisters were needed to work on the family farm. However, it wasn t an easy thing for Mary to go to school. She walked about fi ve miles to school each day, and then she walked home again.

4 4A-2: Mary as a Child Mary didn t mind. Going to school was a privilege that few African American children had especially girls. Mary was an excellent student. She learned easily and quickly. Mary would race home each day to teach her brothers and sisters the things she had learned at school. Mary also taught her neighbor s children. Mary s family was so proud of her.

5 When Mary was thirteen years of age, she received a scholarship to study at a school for African American girls. The school was called Scotia Seminary in North Carolina. Mary s mother was so proud of her 4A-2: Mary as a Child

6 After attending Scotia Seminary, Mary received another scholarship, this time to a school in Chicago. After graduating, Mary returned to South Carolina to become a teacher at the school she had once attended. 4A-3: Mary Teaching

7 Mary was determined to educate young African American children, and no one was going to stop her. After several years of being a teacher, Mary decided to start a school of her own. She especially wanted to teach African American girls, as many still did not receive an education. 4A-3: Mary Teaching

8 4A-3: Mary Teaching Mary had heard about a town in Florida called Daytona Beach. A new railroad was being built there, and many of the workers were African American men. The workers families lived in camps. Their children did not go to school, and the men earned just about enough money to feed their families. Mary saw this as a great opportunity and came up with a plan.

9 4A-4: Mary With Her Students With just $1.50 in her pocket, Mary moved to Daytona Beach, Florida, and opened her own school for African American girls. A kind woman offered Mary a place to live. A friend helped her find an empty house that later became the new school.

10 4A-4: Mary With Her Students Old, broken furniture was fixed. Boxes and packing crates from local stores became desks and chairs, and in the autumn of 1904, Mary opened her own school. In the beginning, there were just six students, including Mary s own son.

11 4A-4: Mary With Her Students Gradually more and more students came. Each girl paid fifty cents a week for tuition. Mary taught them cooking and sewing as well as reading, writing, and math. There was never enough money, so Mary baked pies and cookies to sell.

12 4A-5: Mary Was Concerned Not everyone liked what Mary was doing. One night while Mary was at school, all the street lights went out. When Mary looked out onto the street, she saw a group of people gathered together. They intended to scare Mary in the hope that she would close her school and leave town

13 4A-5: Mary Was Concerned Mary would not be bullied! As the group of people stood in a pool of light, Mary and the frightened girls watched and sang songs. Before long the people scattered.

14 4A-6: Bethune-Cookman University Three years later, Mary moved her school to a new location, a thirty-two acre farm with fourteen buildings. The four hundred students at the school grew their own food.

15 4A-6: Bethune-Cookman University Mary was very proud of what she had achieved. 8 Later, Mary s school joined with a school for African American boys and eventually became the Bethune- Cookman University.

16 4A-6: Bethune-Cookman University Mary s school started with fi ve young African American girls and her son. It eventually became a four-year university with over one thousand students that still exists today. Mary became the president of the school.

17 4A-7: Children Reading However, Mary wasn t quite finished. There was more work to be done. Mary opened up her own hospital. 1Many African Americans received treatment in Mary s hospital. In addition to promoting education and health care, Mary joined forces with various groups who were campaigning for the right for women to vote.

18 4A-7: Children Reading As you have already discovered, in the early 1900s, women could not vote. She believed all people had the right to an education and to have books to read, Mary opened up a library that provided free reading material to anyone who wanted it. Mary was doing amazing things.

19 4A-8: Mary Teaching Men to Read and Write During this time, African American men did have the right to vote, but they weren t always able to. In order to vote, men had to be able to read and write. Mary held classes at night so that African American men who had not had the opportunity to go to school could learn these skills and therefore be able to vote.

20 4A-8: Mary Teaching Men to Read and Write Once again, people tried to scare Mary away. They did not like what she was doing. Mary ignored them and continued her work. Mary always believed in the power of education. The whole world opened to me when I learned to read, she once said.

21 4A-9: Three Presidents Mary s efforts had not gone unnoticed. Three U.S. presidents asked Mary for advice. President Coolidge invited her to attend his Child Welfare Conference. President Hoover asked her to head up the White House Conference on Child Health, and President Roosevelt 1named her as Special Advisor on Minority Affairs. 1Mary also became a founder and the fi rst president of the National Council of Negro Women

22 4A-9: Three Presidents For many years, Mary worked closely with Eleanor Roosevelt. Mary became Director of the Division of Negro Affairs and of the National Youth Administration. She was the first African American woman to become head of a federal agency, or organization. 18 Mary wanted all African Americans to become fully involved in American society.

23 4A-9: Three Presidents Mary received many honors for her work. She received the Spingarn Medal for her efforts in educating African Americans. This medal is given each year by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to an African American.

24 4A-10: Mary as a Member of the Black Cabinet As you have already heard, Mary was part of a group of advisors known as the Black Cabinet. Mary herself asked President Roosevelt to choose more talented African Americans for important jobs. Today we have an African American president. Without people like Mary, it s possible that this might never have happened.

25 4A-10: Mary as a Member of the Black Cabinet As you have already heard, Mary was part of a group of advisors known as the Black Cabinet. Mary herself asked President Roosevelt to choose more talented African Americans for important jobs. Today we have an African American president. Without people like Mary, it s possible that this might never have happened.

26 4A-11: Statue of Mary in Lincoln Park Mary McLeod Bethune died on May 18, On July 10, 1974, ninety-nine years to the day after Mary s birth, a statue of Mary was placed in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C. Mary was the first woman and the first African American to be honored in this way. A portrait of Mary hangs in the State Capitol of South Carolina, a great honor for a woman who fought against discrimination and worked tirelessly for young African Americans.